Neutrino-nucleon scattering rate in proto-neutron star matter

We present a calculation of the neutrino-nucleon scattering cross-section which takes into account the nuclear correlations in the relativistic random phase approximation (RPA). Our approach is based on a quantum-hadrodynamics model with exchange of σ, ω, π, ρ and δ mesons. In view of applications to neutrino transport in the final stages of supernova explosion and proto-neutron star cooling, we study the evolution of the neutrino mean free path as a function of density, proton-neutron asymmetry and temperature. Special attention was paid to the issues of renormalization of the Dirac sea, residual interactions in the tensor channel, coupling to the delta-meson and meson mixing. In contrast with the results of other authors, we find that the neutral-current process is not sensitive to the strength g' of the residual contact interaction. As a consequence, it is found that RPA corrections with respect to the mean-field approximation amount to only 10% to 15% at high density. Received: 27 June 2001 / Accepted: 14 January 2002     

Spin dynamics in sodium clusters

We investigate the dynamics of the electron cloud in a metal cluster from the regime of small oscillations up to high excitations in the multi-plasmon regime. Particular attention is paid to the effect of spin modes. Test cases are a spin saturated cluster, Na₉ ⁺, and a strongly spin polarized cluster, the spherical isomer of Na₆ ⁺. The spectral distributions are dominated by the Mie plasmon resonance and a strong collective spin mode in all cases considered. Nonlinear effects as cross talk between multi-plasmon states or chaotic pattern cannot be observed in the investigated energy range.